Today's Scripture Reading (April 14, 2022): 1 Samuel 20
As people, I believe that we have an innate need to make a difference in the lives of those around us and to
have people in our lives who will make a difference in us. But that comes with
a great cost. When we lose important people in our lives, it often leaves a hole in us that refuses to be filled. I have
friends who, knowing the cost of relationships that matter, often seem to want
to walk the other way and simply not possess those kinds of friendships. The pain is too great. I'm afraid I have to disagree. I have known the pain of loss intimately, yet I am still glad to have people who have made a
difference in my life, even though I know that losing them will hurt. And I hope that they feel the same way.
David and Jonathan have been important to each other;
both men have made a difference in the lives of the other. But now, because of
the irrational anger of Saul, they are being forced to say goodbye. Both of the
friends realize that this could be the last time they will be together. David has to go on the run if he wants to stay alive. And Jonathan has to stay behind with
this father. These
friends will be on different sides of the fight from this point on. But for this moment, they are still together.
David emerges from his hiding spot and begins to walk
toward his friend. Later, there would be a time when bowing three times would
be the custom when approaching royalty. The king's subjects would bow once as they began their approach, once at the halfway point, and once when the person reached the monarch. But this seems to be a little early for that custom. Nevertheless, David bows three times before
he falls prostrate at the feet of Jonathan, the ultimate sign
of respect. And when he rises, the two men weep in the other's arms.
According to the Book of Samuel, David wept the most.
It seems likely this is not a literal evaluation of the number of tears shed by either of the men. The comparison is probably more
about the amount of loss each of
the men was about to suffer.
Jonathan was losing David, his friend and confidante, one who had dared to make a great difference in the life
of the crowned prince of Israel. David was losing Jonathan, but he was also losing so
much more. He would now leave the comforts of the palace, and he could not even return to his home. From this point forward, David would have to make his life as an exile, rarely spending two nights in the
same place, always on the lookout for the friends of Saul. He would be living
in makeshift abodes and caves, always accompanied by the fact that someone
could betray him at any moment. Baptist pastor F. B. Meyer summed up David's loss like this; "Behind you is the sunny
morning, before you a lowering sky; behind you the blessed enjoyment of
friendship, wife, home, royal favor, and popular adulation, before you an
outcast's life" (F.B. Meyer). It was a choice that David didn't want to
make, but into which he had been forced.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Psalm 59
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